overbearing

[oh-ver-bair-ing]

adjective

1. domineering; dictatorial; haughtily or rudely arrogant.

2. of overwhelming or critical importance.

overbearing

/ ˌəʊvəˈbɛərɪŋ /

adjective

1. domineering or dictatorial in manner or action

2. of particular or overriding importance or significance

Other Word Forms

• overbearingly adverb
• overbearingness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of overbearing¹

First recorded in 1590–1600; overbear + -ing ²

Example Sentences

Many blame Delhi for supporting an increasingly authoritarian Hasina in her final years, and see India as an overbearing neighbour.

Read more on BBC

Everyone who met him noticed his thick football neck and his great huge head and his overbearing manner, which was interpreted as both admirably direct and a mask.

Read more on Literature

She claims she tried to end the relationship after a few months when Alvarado turned overbearing and possessive.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But their marriage sours and her in-laws turn overbearing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

"I felt I was at sports day with the kids. Like a loving, overbearing mother, I was putting him off," Garraway noted to the cameras.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• autocratic 
• bossy 
• cocky 
• dictatorial 
• high-handed 
• imperious 
• oppressive 
• tyrannical